The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to ban convicted sex offenders from purchasing smart glasses, arguing that the devices are being used to secretly film women in public and share footage online. The party has warned ministers that digital eyewear with inbuilt cameras, such as Meta Ray-Bans, can be modified to disable the recording indicator light, making covert filming undetectable.
Proposed measures to curb misuse
Anna Sabine MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Culture, Media and Sport, told Metro: 'Nobody should wake up to discover that a video of them has been filmed without their knowledge and shared with thousands or even millions of people online. This is an issue of safety and privacy. The Government can't credibly be committed to halving violence against women and girls while allowing people to become unknowing victims of Spex Offenders.'
The party has written to the government demanding a 'complete ban' on the purchase of smart glasses by convicted sex offenders, as well as a prohibition on modifications that disable or remove the recording indicator LED. In a letter shared with Metro, Ms Sabine said these measures would 'limit the use of smart glasses for covert filming' and 'reinforce the Government's aim of halving violence against women and girls'.
Expert and charity responses
Professor Clare McGynn, a leading expert on violence against women and girls at Durham University, backed 'robust anti-tampering protections' for smart glasses that 'cannot be disabled or circumvented'. She said: 'This requires act by the tech platforms, as well as new regulations.' She added: 'This is not simply about privacy: it is about freedom and protecting women from what my colleagues and I call "freedom-based harms". If new technologies make women feel watched, recorded or targeted in public, they can restrict where we go, what we do and how freely we move through the world. These are freedom-based harms, and we need to anticipate and prevent them now, rather than waiting until they become entrenched.'
The charity Rape Crisis told Metro they want smart glasses 'removed off the market wholesale', stating: 'The seemingly total lack of safeguards demonstrates contempt for the safety of women and girls. Meta will be well aware that the proliferation of sexualised and sexually violent material is rife, and so there is no excuse to create products that can be used to facilitate it and ignore the principle of safety-by-design.' However, the feminist nonprofit described the Liberal Democrats' proposal as 'well-intentioned' but warned it could be difficult to enforce in practice.
The End Violence Against Women Coalition told Metro they were 'concerned that our online safety law doesn't go far enough to protect women from this emerging threat'. Its Interim Director Janaya Walker added: 'Unfortunately, these products can pose a risk to women and girls whether in the hands of a stranger or a friend, colleague or partner.'
Meta's response and safeguards
The Liberal Democrats' letter comes days after Meta announced an update to their AI glasses to prevent people from bypassing the LED light safeguard. The tech giant, which reportedly sold 7 million pairs of their glasses last year, has said the camera will not start recording if the capture LED is covered. Meta added that the glasses will also disable the camera entirely if physical tampering is detected.
Meta confirmed they had seen some people tricking the capture LED by starting to film and then covering the LED. Now, if someone covers the light while filming, the camera will stop. 'These investments are already having a deterrent effect — companies that were offering LED tampering services have shut down because the camera now automatically deactivates when tampering is detected,' Meta added. One company, Ghost Meta, told the Guardian they had paused their business modifying glasses as a result of Meta updates.
A Meta spokesperson said: 'Our glasses are proving to be very popular with people to listen to music, make calls, and even get live translation on the go. We've built privacy into the camera for the glasses from the ground up – a capture LED will blink bright white when you take a photo or video you can save or share. This light has no off switch so both people wearing the glasses and those around them feel comfortable. If people tamper with the LED light, including placing blockers over it, the camera will not work.'
Government stance
A government spokesperson said: 'Recording someone in public to cause alarm or distress may constitute offences such as harassment or stalking. We are already further strengthening protections for victims of intimate image abuse through new offences in the Crime and Policing Act. We will continue to engage with the Information Commissioner's Office to ensure regulation remains effective as technology evolves and that people's information rights are protected.'
